MLB Draft Preview: Ohio

In the weeks leading up to the draft, Perfect Game will be providing a detailed overview of each state in the U.S., including the District of Columbia, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. These overviews will list the state's strengths, weaknesses and the players with the best tools, as well as providing scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2 players as ranked in Perfect Game's state-by-state scouting lists. Please visit this page for all of the links to Perfect Game's 2013 Draft Preview content.

Ohio State-by-State List
By
almost any standard, Kent State—and not The Ohio State
University—is the pre-eminent college-baseball program in Ohio, if
not the entire upper Midwest. In head coach Scott Stricklin’s
nine-year tenure, the Golden Flashes have produced a 355-178 record
(entering the final weekend of conference play), and won four
straight Mid-American Conference championships.

A
year ago, Kent State made its first-ever appearance in the College
World Series; a year earlier, it produced four picks in the first 10
rounds of the draft, including a supplemental first-rounder. The
Golden Flashes may be somewhat more hard-pressed to make a return
visit to Omaha this season, but should influence the draft in a
meaningful way again with right-handers Tyler Skulina and Taylor
Williams targeted to go 1-2 among college players in the state. In
fairness to Ohio State, the Buckeyes might have had the top selection
if two-way prospect Josh Dezse hadn’t been lost for the season with
a back injury, and they had a better overall record than Kent State
even without him. Dezse’s draft status is up in the air.

Ohio
also has a deep crop of high school pitchers.

STRENGTH:
PitchingWEAKNESS:
Position playersOVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 4
BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
Kent StateBEST
JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM:
LakelandBEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Mason HS
PROSPECT
ON THE RISE: Taylor Williams, rhp, Kent State University. A
rare Washington state product attending college in Ohio, Williams
wasn’t expected to impact this year’s draft in a significant way
initially. Williams, though, has made a major statement this spring,
in his first season at Kent State, with his 93-96 mph fastball,
dominating power breaking ball and highly-competitive, aggressive
approach.
WILD
CARD: Josh Dezse, rhp/1b, Ohio State University. The
6-foot-5, 225-pound Dezse had every expectation of being drafted in
the first round this year, especially after pumping his fastball up
to 97 mph as an Ohio State sophomore. But Dezse, who is also a
significant prospect as a power-hitting first baseman, never got out
of the starting blocks this spring as he couldn’t shake a nagging
lower back injury. He finally underwent surgery in early May. It’s
still possible a team could take an early-round flier on him, though
Dezse may not be in position to play again for several months.
BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECTS, Ohio Connection:
Jared King, of, Kansas State University (attended high school in
Dublin); Michael O’Neill, of, University of Michigan (attended high
school in Powell)Top
2014 Prospect: Cameron
Varga, rhp/ss, Cincinnati Christian AcademyTop
2015 Prospect: Austin
Havekost, rhp, Medina HS, Seville

TOP
PROSPECTS, GROUPS 1 and 2
GROUP
1 (rounds 1-3)1.
TYLER SKULINA, rhp, Kent State UniversityThe
6-foot-6, 225-pound Skulina was a high-profile prospect in 2010,
entering his senior season of high school, but fell to the 46th round of that year’s draft because of a minor back injury that
impacted his velocity, and firm college commitment to Virginia.
Skulina ended up spending just one semester with the Cavaliers before
transferring to Kent State, near his northern Ohio home. Though he
had to sit out his freshman year with the Golden Flashes because of
NCAA transfer rules, Skulina was a force a year ago as a sophomore,
winning 11 games while leading Kent State to its first College World
Series appearance. He has been more inconsistent this spring as Kent
State’s Friday starter, going 5-3, 3.78 in his first 13 starts,
with 31 walks and 86 strikeouts in 79 innings. But the strong,
durable right-hander has had a handful of outings where he has
showcased all the ingredients scouts look for in a first-rounder—and
future big-league starter—with three solid-average to plus pitches,
all delivered with a pronounced downhill tilt from a tough
three-quarter angle. His fastball has been a steady 95-96 mph
throughout with tailing movement into right-handed hitters, and he
has complemented it with two quality breaking balls, including a
hard, biting low-80s slider. Skulina has a better, more-balanced
delivery than in high school, but is still prone to games when his
velocity dips to 90-91 mph, he’ll struggle with his control and
command, and hitters have little difficulty seeing his pitches and
squaring him up. His inconsistency, along with the lack of an
established changeup, will probably keep him out of the first round,
but he should be a factor in the second.

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